If you have ever felt small movements underneath you when you’re asleep, then it’s possible mice have made your mattress their home. Some types of mattresses have spaces and crevices where mice can safely and comfortably live.
Mice usually avoid human contact as much as possible and it’s rare they’ll choose to live in your mattress. However, under the right conditions, a mouse will live and nest inside the mattress.
Some types of mattresses are impossible for mice to live in. The human’s body weight could easily crush the mice. Additionally, any mouse movements could be easy to detect. However, other types of mattresses could host mice in relative comfort and total safety for prolonged periods.
How to Tell If There Are Mice in Mattress?
According to a 2014 study in the US, approximately 29% of American homes experience rodent infestations. This figure goes higher during the cold season when mice and other rodents need more warmth and access to food.
The bedroom is one of the coziest places for a mouse to live in. It’s usually a quiet place with relatively low traffic. Humans spend little time there and when we do, we spend most of the time there sleeping.
Mice love living in mattresses because it’s warm there from the human body heat and it’s relatively undisturbed. We don’t overturn our mattress often and we can live years before replacing an old mattress with a new one. There are a few ways you can tell whether there are mice living in your mattress:
Seeing
You will spot them scurrying around the room. Once you see a mouse, look for signs to identify where it might be living and whether it’s nesting. Check under the bed, overturn your mattress, check your closets, and in your suitcases and trunks.
Hearing
Mice can be very quiet but they sometimes make little squealing sounds. Mouse pups will especially get a little noisy when their mother leaves the nest to rummage for food.
The mothers often wait till the dead of the night when all is quiet to make a quick run to your kitchen to search for scraps. The pups may start making noises when they notice the mother is gone or when the mother comes back.
You may also hear scratching sounds in the drywall or wooden trunks and cabinets. It’s sometimes possible to hear playful squeals at dawn and at dusk.
Telltale Signs
You may find signs around the bed that alert you of mice infestations. For example, you may see signs of gnawing of the wooden parts of the bed. You may also find bed sheets with holes and tiny pieces of mattress foam under and around the bed.
You may also find pieces of food, especially food that you know you didn’t bring to the bedroom area. One of the most foolproof signs is the existence of mice poop. Mice typically poop some distance away from where they sleep. So if they are sleeping in your mattress they will poop inside the closet or under the bed. They like pooping in dark corners.
Smell
Rats pee a lot. So one of the first signs you’re likely to encounter is the stench of urine. Just like pooping, rats pee in dark corners away from where they live. They like peeing on an absorbent material such as carpets and where you store your clothes.
Physical Inspection
Possibly the only way to be 100 percent sure there is a mouse living in your mattress is by conducting a physical inspection. Make it a regular habit to check all sides of your mattress thoroughly.
You can inspect monthly when doing your usual thorough cleaning. Here’s how to inspect your mattress for mice:
- Remove all bed sheets, duvets, and pillows.
- Lift your mattress and take it out of the bed.
- Check the top, bottom, and sides for gaping holes, signs of gnawing, and tears in the fabric.
- Do a smell test for any unusual smells, especially urine smells. Stale mice’s urine smells a lot like stale human urine.
- Check for mice fur and droppings.
Can Mice Nest In Your Mattress?
If mice can live in your mattress, they can nest there too. If a mouse starts living in your mattress, it means it has identified a warm, cozy, safe spot. Once it gets comfortable and attracts a mate, baby mice will soon follow, and very soon your mattress and bedroom might be home to a full colony.
Will Mice Get In Your Bed While You Sleep?
Mice avoid human contact as much as they can. That said, a mouse living in your mattress will be sensitive to your movements and aware of your regular schedules. They will sneak out only when you’re away or when you’re deep asleep.
Mice are good climbers and jumpers. They will jump on your bed and on top of you if that’s the fastest way to get to where they want to go.
An adult mouse can jump at least one foot high. If your bedsheets and blankets drape to the floor, they will use that as a climbing ladder to the top of your bed. Mice will also climb up the leg of the bed, especially if it’s made of wood.
How to Get Rid Of Mice in Mattress?
- Start by cleaning up your whole room. Remove all clutter. Hang your clothes in the closet and neatly fold away the rest.
- Stop snacking inside your bedroom. Let the mice have to sneak out and go to other rooms to find food and water. In good time, they will stop seeing your bedroom as a good living environment.
- Get a cat. Mice hate the smell of cats. And the purr and growl of a cat send signals of a predator. If you don’t like cats or can’t take care of one, just use the other methods outlined in this post.
- Keep all your indoor and outdoor trash bins tightly sealed. Empty all pet food and water dishes overnight and refill in the morning.
- Replace any infested mattress and get rid of it far away from the home.
- Use a mouse-proof mattress cover. Mice will find it difficult to chew through and make a home.
- Use human-mouse traps as a last resort.
Conclusion
It’s rare for mice to make a home inside your mattress because they are shy creatures who avoid human contact. However, if your mattress offers comfort, warmth, and safety with easy access to food and water, then mice might take to living inside.
The best way to prevent mice from living in your mattress and getting rid of those already living there is to do a regular thorough inspection of the mattress. Get rid of infested mattresses and use a mouse-proof cover. Remove all food and water from the bedroom and stop snacking in bed.
